Long Way to Happiness
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: All Alec and Aline had ever wanted was to be with the people they love, but they both fear that the Clave wouldn't accept it. Getting married just so they could be free and sarisfy their families in the same time is their worst and best option. Semi-AU, three-shot. Magnus/Alec; Helen/Aline
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: After a few awkward drabbles, I finally basically throw myself into the Mortal Instruments fanfiction. **

**I think that this fic needs an explanation of some sort so… It's semi-AU (in which Alec and Aline never actually came out to the whole Shadow world) and based on one of **_**Spun**_**'s fics – **_**Avarice**_**. **

**Any feedback is appreciated, because it's a really weird pairing and lots of difficult characters and I have honestly no idea how it turned out.**

**P.S.: One last thing – if you couldn't imagine what Aline and Helen's dress/hair/whatever looks like (because I feel like I really screwed the description of the wedding dress and I don't think that Alec or Magnus's clothes need any picture) the closest I could find (excluding the models's faces. I don't imagine them like that at all) is on my profile, because it's seemingly impossible to post a link here, no matter how much spaces I place.**

* * *

"You look amazing." Aline praised, her eyes scanning Alec. He was dressed in formal clothes – a tux, actually, covered in golden runes, and a black dress shirt underneath. He had combed his hair and that was everything he could and would do about it.

His parents had been here a few hours ago; then Jace, Isabelle and even Clary had visited him. They all complimented him, told him how good he looked. In his parents's case, things ended with this, but when the others had come here, they asked him if he was okay. If he was ready or sure that he really wanted to get married.

He wasn't. But he had no choice.

When Alec and Aline had announced their engagement to their families, both his and her parents had been delighted and everyone said that they were a lovely couple. When he was holding Aline's hand, smiling to his mother, Alec had seen the relief in Maryse's eyes. Marriage was a topic that his parents brought up more and more often ever since he had turned 20.

The engagement – more like an arrangement, actually – he had with Aline, though, involved anything but actual love.

It had all started about two years ago, when they had been in Alicante. They had confessed some things to each other and had came up with the brilliant idea that they were putting into action today – back then, they had decided that, if things went as bad for both of them as they feared that they would – they two would get together just so they could both be free without actually letting anyone know the truth behind it all.

Truth was that marriage was – for both of them – one last, desperate attempt to have some kind of freedom. They had vowed to each other that, once they were married, they'd make their families happy and that then they would let each other do whatever they want.

It wasn't exactly Alec's idea of perfect life, but it was something.

Then the preparations for the wedding had started and he had spent the last six hours or so sitting in this room and supposedly getting ready for the ceremony. He had tried to turn his feeling off and just smile to everyone.

Isabelle had come to visit him at some point. He could barely remember a moment when she'd been crying, but today, she did. She had stayed and talked to him, restlessly assuring him that this wasn't necessary and that their parents would understand and would love him, no matter who _he_ had chosen to love.

Then it was Jace, and that experience was even worse than Izzy's tears. His parabatai didn't seem sad, just really angry and he had hardly uttered a word to Alec. He wasn't even sure if Jace was angry at him for being such a coward, or at everyone else for scaring him off in the first place. Alec didn't ask. He just assured him friend that he was all right.

Then, much to Alec's surprise, Clary had visited him as well. Strangely enough, she was the only one of all three who had said something that actually made him feel a bit better.

"You can always come to us, you know." She had said calmly, as if it was obvious. "We all understand. I'm pretty sure Aline does, too. she feels the same, after all. You'll be fine."

The words had been completely ordinary, but pretty much what Alec actually needed and that was why they were so relaxing. She knew that he was far from being fine at the moment, and she didn't try to convince him that he was, in fact, alright. She just spoke the truth, exactly as it was.

"Still there?" Aline asked gently and Alec realised that he'd been spacing out again.

"Sure." He smiled. She had saved him just before his train of thought could reach its 'Magnus' station. Alec didn't want that right now. It would be too much.

He finally took a good look on his soon-to-be bride.

"You're very beautiful." He said awkwardly, not sure if she needed to be reassured – she seemed pretty confident most of the time. But he wasn't lying. She _was_ beautiful.

Aline's dress was – as was customary for the Shadowhunters – golden and one of the most pretentious things he had ever seen – not in a bad way, though. It had a corset with only one strap, a bit under her right shoulder. The whole corset was covered with small, almost unnoticeable ornaments. There was a golden rose right on her waist and a lot more of them, falling down the skirt made of golden satin. Just between the two trails of roses, the dress was made of something else. Silk? Probably. Alec couldn't identify it for sure.

Aline's dark hair was left hanging loose down her shoulders' her head crowned with a wreath of the same roses that he could see on the dress.

"It's really pretty." She agreed, playing absent-mindedly with one of the bracelets on her wrist. A sad, bitter smile curled her lips. "That was what Helen told me when she saw it, anyway." Aline's black eyes searched for his blue ones and Alec was rather surprised to see an actual concern in the look she gave him. "Do you know if Magnus will come over before the wedding?" she asked softly.

Lately, Alec had gotten used to the way she rapidly jumped on one topic to another. He usually expected it, but this question had taken him by surprise. He nearly flinched.

"I don't know." Alec admitted quietly, looking down. He hated that; he hated not knowing if the only person he actually loved would come to visit him right before his wedding. It was almost as absurd as the whole wedding itself. "He didn't say anything… but I suppose he will. He's not mad at me for getting married. He knows it's not… well…"

"For real." Aline finished his sentence instead of him. She said it without menace; Alec knew that she actually liked him quite a lot. Just not in the way everyone thought she did.

"Yeah." He said. "Do you have to get going already?" he asked, seeing that she was already standing by the door. Aline nodded.

"Yeah. There are a lot of things I still have to do, and we have less than an hour. Mother wanted a proper goodbye since, you know, I'm moving in New York and all." Suddenly she approached Alec and pulled him into a tight embrace. "See you at the ceremony." She whispered and gently kissed his cheek, leaving him alone in the empty room.

It was one of the guest rooms in the Institute. He was supposed to live here with Aline and eventually take the control over the place from his father after some years – he was almost certain that the Clave wouldn't take it away from him.

His mother had told him to stay out of his room in the day of the wedding, because he was about to start a new life. Something about symbols and stuff like that. It was one of Maryse's rare displays of those strange beliefs they had in the Trueblood family, so he hadn't protested much after she assured him that nobody is going to take over his room once he was married. The ceremony was supposed to take place in the gardens of the Institute; it was the middle of July, after all.

There was a soft knock on the door and Alec put on a smile, not sure how long would he have to just stay here and assure people that he was as happy as he could get.

"Come in." he called to whoever was outside.

The man who entered the room was the only one that Alec wanted to see in a day like this one. Actually, in some other life, he would probably be the only person the Shadowhunter would want to get married to at all.

Magnus didn't ask him if he was okay, or if he was sure and ready for what he was about to do. He knew that Alec wasn't. The Warlock just sat next to him, a soft and yet sad smile playing on his lips.

"I've never thought that I'd have an affair with a married man." He said and Alec tried to smile, for Magnus's sake, but he was pretty sure that he had failed. He took the Warlock's hand in his own, looking at the elegant ringed fingers.

"_Set me as a seal upon thine heart,_

_As a seal upon thine arm,_

_For love is strong as death."_ He murmured. He knew that he would never be able to place runes on Magnus's skin; runes that spoke to the Shadowhunter of love and loyalty, of affection and an oath that he would never break.

"What was that?" Magnus frowned.

"Surely you've heard it." Alec replied and repeated his words. "It's what Shadowhunters say on their wedding ceremonies. One rune is placed here" he touched the place just above Magnus's heart; "and the other one is here." He touched his arms.

"Love is strong as death." His boyfriend echoed. "It doesn't sound very encouraging."

"It's not." Alec agreed. "I think it means that the only way to be parted from the one you love is to die, because death isn't stronger than your love for them. But it's just as strong so… I suppose it's kind of a promise. That if your beloved dies, you wouldn't able to bring them back, but you'll never forget. Because love is strong as death." Alec's voice died. He was slightly ashamed; he never talked much and there was a reason for that. He could rarely say anything that was worth hearing.

"I think you're right." Magnus said quietly after a few moments of silence. There was something in the Warlock's voice that made Alec look up and when he did, he saw that those green-gold eyes he loved so much were suspiciously glistening.

"Are you crying?" Alec asked, terrified that he had said something terribly wrong.

"Who doesn't cry on weddings?" Magnus said and, despite the smile he managed, that shaken look in his eyes did not disappear. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "You most likely have to go already." He said, suddenly in a hurry. "You've got to be there in about ten minutes.

Alec's heart sank. How long was it when Aline had told him that they had an hour more? Wasn't it about five minutes ago? He couldn't believe that time had passed so quickly exactly when he would really like it to stop and never start again.

Without saying anything else, he wrapped his arms around Magnus, pulling him closer. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against the Warlock's, successfully forgetting the whole world for about ten seconds.

"I love you." He whispered and left the room not waiting for a response. He probably wouldn't be able to bear the sight of Magnus's eyes that followed him when he closed the door behind his back.

**~X~**

"Look at them." Aline murmured while they were waiting for their already slightly neurotic parents to find seats for the guests.

But she wasn't looking at said parents. Alec followed her gaze and saw the strangest couple in the world.

Helen Blackthorn was sitting in the front row (Aline and Alec had at least gotten to decide who sits where). She was wearing a dark green dress that seemed pretty simple, excluding the small crystals that were thrown around the dress in seemingly random places. Somewhere in the back of his mind Alec thought that Helen's dress weirdly matched Aline's – they were pretty much alike, if he didn't pay attention the color. A few blonde curls, artistically slipping out of her coiffure, were surrounding her pale face while she smiled encouragingly at them both. Next to her, Magnus had already taken his place and he was smiling too, while answering to some question the girl next to him had asked him.

Since his parents were not around yet and he had nothing to fear, Alec left himself shamelessly stare at the Warlock for a while.

Magnus was wearing a black tux, pretty similar to Alec's, but the Shadowhunter noticed that Magnus definitely looked better in it than him. Unlike his own black shirt, though, his boyfriend's was a color Alec couldn't really put a name on – it seemed to be something like dark green, the same shade as Helen's dress, but whenever the Warlock turned around, Alec could catch some golden shine if he looked from the right angle. He suspected magic behind it – he hadn't seen shirt that could change its color, and it resembled Magnus's eyes too much to be a coincidence.

The Warlock's eyes were something that, as always, took his breath away. Sometimes Alec felt like he could get lost in those eyes for hours and even then, there would be yet some unfamiliar shade, some new gleam to discover the next time he looked at them. The make up he had put around them tonight was less than usual, but, just as the shirt, it made his eyes stand out in a way that always had Alec absolutely stunned.

"Alexander!" Robert's sharp voice invaded Alec's mind mercilessly and for an instant, the younger Shadowhunter felt overwhelming anger rise inside him before he could help it. Then he tried to pull himself together. He was about to waste his life just so he could keep his reputation unstained. It would be ridiculous if he left himself being caught _now_, after everything that had happened.

"What is it?" he asked, trying not to snap, as he met his father's gaze. The man seemed just as annoyed as him. As if he had a reason to be.

"The ceremony will start any minute now." Robert said. "Can you please pull yourself together?"

His father's words echoed his own thoughts in a way that worried him deeply. As much as he respected Robert, he certainly didn't want to be anything like him. The idea that they were even _thinking_ in ways that were similar to each other was a bit frightening for Alec.

"Sure. Of course." _Let's just get this over with._

The rest of the whole thing – family speeches and all – was a bit of a fog for Alec. He successfully turned off everything that surrounded him - the people, their words, their faces, everything. In his mind, he was someone else entirely and nothing of_ here_ and_ now_ actually mattered to him at all.

"Alec!" Aline hissed. He looked at her in surprise, and as soon as her realised that her face was burning, he felt his own cheeks flush too. They both hadn't realised that the time to place the runes on each other had come. By the Angel. Couldn't he do one thing right? Even his own damn wedding?

He hastily pulled his stele out of his pocket and got closer to his bride. He started drawing the first rune right above her heart, where the corset of her dress ended.

"_Set me as a seal upon thine heart,_

_As a seal upon thine arm,_

_For love is strong as death."_

He said it as quietly as he could, feeling bad that his heart wasn't into the thing he was saying, as she stretched her arm out and he drew the second rune there. The stele didn't seem to be responding to his touch as easily as it usually did and suddenly a strange thought occurred to him – what if the Angel knew if you were honest or not and that was why he couldn't draw the complex Marriage runes properly? Or was it only his guilty conscience and his slightly shaking hands combined to torture him?

Before he could even get rid of these thoughts, he heard Aline repeating the same words and felt the pleasant burning trace of the stele as she undid one or two buttons of his shirt, glaring at him for not having thought of that, in order to place the rune where it was supposed to be.

When she was done, her eyes locked with his. There was no love in the look they shared; only silent, mutual understanding.

Alec leaned in to kiss her as they both closed their eyes and imagined someone entirely different was there with them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: Well, I got a few requests to continue this, so I decided to do so. Just to explain – it won't be really long. The next chapter is the last one.**

**Also, the second and third chapter are the same night, but this one is from Aline's POV and the next one is from Alec's. I also decided to include the two songs that were my 'soundtrack' while writing this story and that – for me – somewhy suited the two pairings. Helen and Aline's one is **_**Howl**_** by **_**Florence and the Machine.**_

**Reviews are still appreciated; it's the first time I write a girlxgirl pairing and it's still a bit odd for me so I'd like to know what you think. (:**

_Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers  
Starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters  
A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night  
May still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright_

Aline had been out of her new bedroom for about ten minutes already and she was completely lost in the large building.

That was everything she was sure of right now. Alec hadn't given her the tour around her new home and, for some reason, she hadn't asked him to. Maybe it was because the Institute was right now full (almost) to its limits. The Lightwoods had kindly invited all the people that had been at the wedding to spend the night here and nearly everyone had accepted.

Alec, just as she had expected, hid in their room as soon as he could – which was about midnight. Then they had awkwardly sat around the room, wondering what to do and longing to leave and go where they wanted to be. It took Alec about fifteen minutes of it before he said that he has 'work to do', even though they both knew where he was going, and quietly told her that the Blackthorns had been given rooms in the Eastern wing of the Institute.

Aline hadn't been the slightest bit offended that he had left so unceremoniously – quite on the contrary, she was glad that they could understand each other so easily. She had waited a few more minutes – she didn't want people to see the bride and the groom running off at the same time – and then got out as quietly as she could.

She had been at a few institutes – mostly the Los Angeles one, because of Helen, and that had been supposed to be a friendly visit – but none of them had been as big as this one. It took her a few minutes to get lost, mostly because she didn't know where the 'Eastern wing' was supposed to be. Actually, she had passed enough corridors already to be unable to tell where _east_ was supposed to be.

She sighed in irritation and hurried around the corner… just to have someone basically running over her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… Aline?! What the hell are you doing here?"

Someone had turned off the faint light in the hallways of the Institute and now the place was lit only by the moonlight. But even in the semi-darkness, Aline could recognize the voice. And the tall, slender figure as well.

"Alec?" she whispered, getting closer to him. "What are you doing here? I thought you've already gotten to Magnus's room by now…"

He didn't even bother to protest, just snorted in something between annoyance and helplessness.

"The place is crowded." He explained quietly. "I keep running into people walking around. I've got no idea why aren't they asleep, it's one in the morning…"

"Aren't you used to having people around?" Aline asked. Alec shook his head.

"Usually it's only me, Izzy, Jace and my parents. And Clary sometimes… But it has never been so full" suddenly he seemed to focus on her. "I still don't know why you are still wandering around. I told you the Eastern wing, didn't I?"

"And where is that?" Aline hissed. "You could have told me… It's the first time I've been here."

Alec looked like this only occurred to him now.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, I can show you the way." He suggested. "Maybe by then everyone else would finally be in bed."

"Maybe." Aline agreed. She considered the situation for a while. It was almost ridiculous – they were standing here, in the middle of the hallway, both still in their clothes from the wedding. They'd probably seem crazy to anyone passing by. Luckily, there didn't seem to be anyone around in the moment. "What say you show me the way to Helen's room, just so I can remember where it is, and then I can walk you to your old room."

Alec seemed confused. "Why would you do that?"

Aline rolled her eyes at her so-called husband. "How do you think it would look to anyone else, Alec? It would be easier to explain if we're together, don't you think?"

He didn't say anything, just took her hand and leaded her down the corridor.

"It's not really far from here." He said, still whispering. "Once you get used to the Institute, you won't get lost anymore…"

Suddenly, Aline felt herself relaxing a bit. There was this thing about Alec; his mood almost always reflected on the people around him. Right now, there was some excitement, some spark in his eyes, that made her smile subconsciously. They had done it. They could finally be free.

**~X~**

"Here we are." Alec whispered. Aline took a good look at the door until she was sure that she had memorized the way to Helen's room, then nodded to herself and kept walking. Alec shook his head.

"You don't need to." he said. At the skeptical glance she gave him, he continued. "No, really. My room really isn't that far away. I'll make sure nobody sees me."

Aline nodded again and wasted no time in wondering if this was the right thing to do. After another short glance up and down the corridor, she quickly sank in the shadows of the room before her.

_If you could only see the beast you've made of me_

_I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free_

_Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart_

_Drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart_

"Where have you been?" Helen asked quietly; Aline wasn't sure where exactly she was, but she could hear her. Someone tripping over something and then a few curses could be heard, and then the room was filled with the soft light of the lamp in one of the guestrooms of the Institute.

"No, don't!" Aline panicked. "Someone might see us; there are probably still people out in the gardens!"

Helen pursed her lips, but turned the lights off anyway. After a few seconds, she lit the candle on the nightstand.

"Discrete enough for you?" Her girlfriend's voice was teasing but, even on the dim light, Aline could make out her features – and the hurt in her eyes.

She sat on the bed next to Helen, her dress following shortly after. When she moved, it made a sound that reminded her of the river near the Penhallow mansion back home. Aline felt overwhelmed by the sharp pain in her chest.

"Homesick already?" Helen asked and Aline just nodded, afraid that if she said even a single word, she would break into tears. Her girlfriend let out a sympathetic noise. "I understand. I miss Idris too. Every day, and we've been living in LA for years." Her voice died. "We should have told everyone. Probably they wouldn't mind."

"We don't have to." Aline replied exasperatedly. They've talked about that so many times that she'd given up on counting them. "Look at Alec and Magnus. They've told nobody – well, _almost_ nobody – and they're happy. Can we please don't talk about that tonight?" she begged. "We have only a few hours left together."

At that, Helen dropped the topic – Aline could see it in those kaleidoscopic eyes; the whole thing was forgotten, leaving room only for something that looked like unbearable love and sorrow in the same time.

Not for the fist time tonight, Aline couldn't help but notice how beautiful Helen was. With her green dress – which she was still dressed in – she looked like a faerie of some sort. She was a bit wild in the eyes – and in general. Despite her young age, she had some air about her that Aline had seen only when she was around creatures that were hundreds of years old.

In the light of the candle, her eyes were dark; her long lashes casting shadows on her sharp cheekbones. Her dress – probably due to the light again – seemed like made of bronze, a bit darker than the one Aline was wearing. And, for one long moment that seemed to last forever, Aline could imagine what it would feel like to get a_ real_ wedding night. With someone she actually loved; someone who she would be willing to give in to in the dead of night after the festivities were over.

As it happened to them pretty often, Helen seemed to be on the same page as her. Without giving much thought into it, her girlfriend leaned in and closed the distance between their lips.

_The fabric of your flesh, pure as a wedding dress_

_Until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest_

_The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound_

_I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallowed ground_

When Aline woke up in the morning, everything seemed completely right – which hadn't happened in a long time. The sun was shining through the windows and caressed her skin. Her arms were wrapped lightly around Helen – whose breathing was soft and even and Aline knew that she was still asleep – and all she could currently think of was that this is going to be the best day of her life.

She wrapped her fingers around one lock of Helen's white-golden hair and in the same moment, the girl in her arms trembled slightly and her eyelids fluttered open.

"Sorry." Aline murmured. "Didn't mean to wake you up."

Helen smiled at her gently, looking like she wanted to stand up but gave up on it, and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"It's okay. I'll probably have to go soon anyway. Mom will most likely come to wake us all up."

"For once, Aline didn't panic that they're going to get caught. It didn't really matter to her at the moment. She just tightened her embrace around Helen's tiny body and looked out of the windows. She was unable to go back to her room right now; unable to stand up or to be taken away from the girl in her arms.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Helen asked. "Anything particular Alec wants to do?" she was really good at always keeping that carefree tone, Aline thought, no matter how painful the topic was to her.

Aline merely shook her head.

"I don't think so. He seemed pretty eager to find Magnus last night. I doubt that he's even awake already."

"And nobody would dare to disturb the newly wed couple." Helen's voice was a bit brighter now. "Therefore, no one would expect you around today."

"What are you plotting?" Aline asked suspiciously; a smile playing on her lips, even though she wasn't aware of it.

"I'm supposed to be your best friend, Aline." Helen's voice was mockingly accusing. "And you've got a new home. You can't _not_ give me the Grand Tour."

"It would be a shame." Aline agreed eagerly. Helen sat up in the bed, looking around and grimacing at the sight of their clothes.

"Do you have anything except that dress?" she asked, gesturing at the wedding dress, currently thrown over a chair. Next to it, Helen's dark green dress could be seen.

Aline shook her head. "No. I didn't really think about that."

Unexpectedly, Helen beamed at her. "But I did." She got out of bed and approached her suitcase, where she had left it yesterday. "You can have anything you like." She reassured when Aline didn't move.

Helen (who was already dressed in a simple yellow summer dress) got closer to her and whispered "And you can keep it. Just so I know you'll remember me."

Aline's eyes started burning slightly, and she let her fingernails sink into her palms and chase the tears away. She knew that she could visit Helen whenever she liked, but she was just as aware that the fear of the secret they kept would never truly leave them.

Aline pressed Helen tightly to herself.

"I'll never forget."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes: So, this story is finally finished. I hope this chapter wouldn't disappoint. I was really in hurry while writing it, so I'm sorry for any mistakes or anything, because I'm as out of time as I can get. **

**Hope you guys like it and, as always, reviews are very appreciated.**

**The song used in the beginning is **_**Radioactive **_**by **_**Imagine Dragons.**_

_I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_I'm radioactive, radioactive_

As soon as Alec had left Aline in front of Helen's room, he proceeded to wander around the hallways of the Institute, not able to wait until he would get to his room. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him, but for some reason, everything around him seemed almost too bright; the sound of his own footsteps was echoing in his ears. He was feeling strangely alive as he knew he was getting closer and closer to the place he wanted to be…

"Alexander! What on earth are you doing here?!"

Alec stopped dead where he was and slowly turned back to face his mother.

"I… I think I forgot something in my room." he said lamely. Dear Lord, it was one in the morning or something. He was sure as hell he was supposed to be in his new bedroom, with Aline, doing Angel knows what. And he _definitely _wasn't supposed to be thinking about some stuff he had forgotten in his room. "It's important." He added.

"Really?" Maryse gave him a skeptical look that spoke beyond words. She seemed slightly bored as well, and Alec could see why. She had probably dealt with the mess out in the garden the whole time. "And what so important have you left there that it can't wait till tomorrow?"

|It's something that I really need right now." Alec replied quietly, thinking about Magnus who was waiting for him there. "And I don't think it can really wait until tomorrow."

And suddenly, when his mother looked him in the eyes, Alec realised that she _knew_. He didn't know how she had found out – probably just by observing the whole situation. Before Alec even had the chance to freak out, he saw her eyes soften.

"Alright." She whispered. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

He saw Maryse looking at him in worry and even a bit of sadness, mixed with something else – she was staring at him like he had shaken her whole world and she wasn't sure if she knew who he was anymore. But not in a bad way. Her eyes were full of love as well.

_I could have changed something_, he thought. _Anything. _Then nobody would have to look at him like that. He recalled the faces of his friends before the wedding; they all looked like they wanted to apologise for not being able to do anything.

Alec looked up at his mother.

"I found it long ago."

**~X~**

_I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus_

_This is it, the apocalypse_

_I raise my flags, don my clothes_

_It's a revolution, I suppose_

_We're painted red to fit right in_

When he opened the door of his room, Alec was amazed by the sudden realization that everything in this place was holding as much of him as it could. Even though he hadn't been here from only a few hours, he had started to miss it.

His clothes were still scattered around, the pictures of him family on the wall, and his bookshelf still as full and slightly dusty as it always had been. He had a few statuettes on his nightstand – as much as he didn't care about the way he looked like, he liked to be surrounded from pretty things. And then there was the bed...

Magnus was lying down on it, his eyes half-closed as he stared at the ceiling above him. Alec wasn't sure if he had heard him coming in at all. He approached silently.

The Shadowhunter climbed on the bed, trying not to make any sound. Even if Magnus had noticed him, he didn't react in any way.

Alec laid down next to him, searching for the familiar pair of piercing green-gold eyes, only to notice something that was entirely new for him.

On the moonlight coming through the windows, the Warlock's eyes had adopted a new, unseen – at least from Alec – shade of silver that drowned in said golden green that he was used to.

An amused smile curled Magnus's lips as Alec kept just looking at him calmly, without saying a thing.

"What's the matter?" he asked. The Shadowhunter felt his face warm up.

"It's nothing." He replied shyly, but then decided to reply. His boyfriend could most likely read his expression anyway. "It's just… I've never seen you like that." His voice was no louder than a whisper, his eyes avoiding Magnus's stare, as he always did when he was absolutely honest.

Without replying, the Warlock gently wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer until their lips met for a kiss.

"I love you too." Magnus said quietly and Alec thought about his last words to the Warlock before the wedding – 'I love you'. He had never given him a chance to reply. "Maybe if I'd said it earlier, it would change something." Magnus's tone was unusually sad for someone like him. Alec shook his head, trying to comfort him.

"It wouldn't." he said. "Not really. I was just trying to fit in. Turns out it was all in vain." The Warlock gave him a questioning look. "My mother knows. I met her on my way here. She knows – about us – and she didn't say anything. I don't even know why."

"That should only make you happy, Alec." Magnus was smiling again, which was a relief to Alec. As long as he could still see that smile, he knew that everything would eventually be all right. "She knows every bit of you now, and she loves you. That's all you need. Who cares about the others? And it's not like Aline would make a problem of you not being around enough."

"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't." Alec chuckled quietly at the implying that he could spend as much time as he wanted in Magnus's apartment. His boyfriend had repeated that to him about a thousand times.

And suddenly, as they both were laughing almost soundlessly, everything felt like it always did when he was with Magnus. None of them needed to be someone who they weren't. It was simple. Easy. And thrilling, if you include the whole 'meeting kept in secret' thing.

But none of these things could compare to what Alec felt for Magnus himself. To him, it was electrifying, shocking even, emotion that made him feel more alive than he ever had before in his life.

"Not being the type that always fits in has its good sides, don't you think?" the Warlock murmured softly after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"What d'you mean?" Alec asked, surprised by the sudden statement.

"Have you ever been around – in New York, I mean, not the Institute – by night?" Magnus asked. The Shadowhunter nodded.

"Yes. Sometimes when we're out hunting–"

"No, I didn't mean that. Have you been out for a walk? Not with any real purpose, just for your own enjoyment? It's amazing."

Alec wasn't sure what was so amazing about the city they lived in – be it at night or not – but usually Magnus's ideas seemed to be pretty good, so he shrugged.

"Where do you want to go, then?"

**~X~**

_All systems go, the sun hasn't died_

_Deep in my bones, straight from inside_

_I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

Magnus hadn't lied. It _was_ amazing.

Alec had rarely felt this way – like he was completely anonymous and there wasn't anything or anyone that could harm him in any way. The feeling of being nobody for a few hours was intoxicating. He didn't need to stand up to anyone's expectations, because the city was big enough for anybody to get lost in it and he didn't fear of being caught and seen by anyone who could possibly recognize him. He felt like nothing mattered except him and Magnus right now and it was the best thing he could imagine in the moment.

"Where do you want to go?" Magnus asked as they got to Times Square. Alec was pretty surprised – there were a lot of people still out the streets. It wasn't really all that late – the night was still young, as Magnus liked to say sometimes, and New York hadn't earned the title of a 'city that never sleeps' for nothing.

"It doesn't really matter." Alec laughed. He hadn't heard the sound of his own laugh – not so honest-sounding for sure – and he was a bit surprised at how careless it sounded. As long as you're still here."

"I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon." Magnus replied with a small smile; that glint of joy in his cat-like eyes never disappearing.

Alec smiled back. "Then everything's absolutely fine."

It was most likely the best night he had spent in his life.

Alec hadn't imagined this when the morning had dawned on his wedding day. All he could think of was how doomed he was and all he could feel was despair and overwhelming anger and bitterness. Now, however, all of it was forgotten. He couldn't remember why he had felt so bad and he didn't want to. All he cared about was that he was exactly where he wanted to be with whom he wanted to be and nothing could ruin that, as long as he was still here.

It was about 5:30 AM when the first rays of the sun showed themselves upon the city. Somewhere by that time Magnus and Alec were in Central Park.

"I suppose all good things have to come to an end." Magnus sighed as he watched the Shadowhunter check his clock more and more often. Alec blushed; he couldn't help the worry that slowly crawled back on him. He didn't want that; didn't want to be back to the reality where nothing made sense to him.

"No, they don't." He replied quietly. "They don't have to, Magnus. Not if we don't want them to."

The Warlock raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden passionate tone in Alec's voice. "Meaning that…?"

"Meaning that it doesn't need to end. Not now, not any time soon. We have hours, Magnus." Alec could feel how desperate his own voice was, as if he was trying to convince himself in what he was saying. "For now. But we can have _years_… If you only allow it."

"You lost me somewhere in the beginning of that speech." Magnus said, laughing quietly. When Alec didn't say anything, he insisted. "What are you actually trying to tell me?"

"I'm trying to tell you to forget everything about the Institute, the wedding, and everything else." He explained quietly. "I know that it's hard for you and that you don't want to live in a make-believe world, and so on and so on. But can you please try?" he had rarely showed such an honest, vulnerable side of himself to anyone. Even to Magnus. But he desperately wanted him to understand. "Can you try to? Leave it all for later. Just be here with me. Now. It's all I ask for."

"I can forget about anything you want me to." Magnus said, echoing Alec's words from a few hours ago. "As long as you're still here."

Alec smiled as the sun rose above them, drowning the shadows of the trees around them in Magnus's hair. For once, nothing else mattered. Nothing but _him._

"Then we have all the time in the world."


End file.
